Improvement in beige machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. J. MILLS. BRICK MACHINE.

No. 65,931. Patgnted June 18, 1867.

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J. MILLS. BRICK MACHINE.

. Patented June 18, 1867 aitrhg'tatrs gamut @ffirz.

JONATHAN MILLS, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, LEWIS J. BROWN, CHARLES S. SPOFFORD, AND HENRY VAN LUTHERAN.

Letters Patent No. 65,931, dated June 18, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRIGK MACHINES.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that LJONATIIAN MILLs, of Des Moines, in the county of Polk, and State of Iowa, have invented a. new and useful Improvement in Brick Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, \vhichwill enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying'drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to the construction as well as to the general arrangements of the parts of a brick machine whereby many of the objections which have hitherto been met with in the manufacture of brick are overcome; and the invention consists more particularly in the construction and arrangement of the mill or pug-tub in the form of the track which governs the pressing-follower, and also in the arrangement by which the apron by which the brick are carried from the machine is moved, as will be more plainly dtseribed hereinafter.

Figure Lrepresents a vertical central section of my machine, through the line .2: a: 'of fig. 2, showing the nrrnngementand interior portion of the pug-tub, as well as a section of the pressing-follower-and track.

Figiire 2 is a vertical section of fig. 1, through the line 3 3/, showing the position of the moulds and the followers on the revolving-wheel, with a back view of the presser-plate.

Figure 3arepresents a front end elevation of the machinmls'howing the arrangement by which the brick are placed on the apron, and also the mannerin which theapron is moved.

Figure 4 is a detailed view, showing the followers and the inclined plane which forces out the follower and the brick flush with the face of the wheel.

Figure 5 also shows an edge view of 'ih track which governs the followers, and the manner in which the follower is dropped back to relieve the pressure on the brick, and also the inclined plane before mentioned.

Figure 6' shows a cross-section of the track with one of the followers in place, and'also a cross-section of the pressure plate. I i I I Similar letters of reference indicate. like parts.

I am aware that brick machines havebeen heretofore constructed which embrace many of the essential features found in mine.- Thepug-tnb, the presser-plate,'and the inclined plane or track, and the roll on the follower which traverses die track, are common devices. But by their particular construction and arrangement great difliculty has been experienced in making a smooth and perfect brick. claim to' have overcome all such objections by my method of constructiou and arrangement. i

In carrying out my invention 1- place the diflerent portions of my machine in a frameof suitable size and form, constructed of either wood or iron, and so attached that the machine shall be firmly supported by it.

A represents the frame. 13 is a main central shaft from which the machine is operated. G represents the main wheel, which is placed on one end of the shaft. D is a small wheel ,or driving pinion, which gears into the main wheel 0, to the shaft of which the power is applied which drives the machine. At the other end of main shaft B there is a gear-wheel from which the mill or pug-tub is driven. This wheel is marked E in the drawing. F is another'wheel which meshes into E. It is attached to the pug-tub shaft, and being similar than E it increases the motion of the tub-shaft. G represents that shaft.

The knives or cutters are attached to sleeves which are bored out and keyed or fastened onto the shaft G. There-arc four of those slcevesion the shaft, with two'knives to each. The sleeves are marked a, and the knives Z1.

II represents the wings which force the clay into the moulds. The knivesare set (in relationto the shift) at an angle, or so that the clay is propelled or screwed towards wings ILand the wings themselves (two in number) stand on the shaft'in the same position. The interior edges of these forcing wings just clear the surface f fl plate which forms the inner end of the mill, and through which the clay is forced.

The-pug tub or mill lies in a horizontal position, and the lower portionof the shell, in which it. operates, is attached to the frame and to the inner end by suitable ear and bolts." The shell or casing of the mill is divided at the middle, and the upper portion is hinged to the top of the inner end of the mill in 'sucha manner that when it is opened or turned back the whole interior of the mill is exposed, so that any obstacle can easily be removed, and the mill inspected at all times. This Iconsider a very important feature of my invention for the reasons above mentioned. Attached'to the inner end-plate of the mill, and extending down fromit, is the prcsser-plate, marked J, figs." 2 and This plate is suitably secured to the frame by bolts. and braces independent of its attachment toft-hcendplatc of the mill.

'K represents wheel, which is firmly attached to the main shaft, and revolves with it. The face .of this wheel K revolves in contact with the inner side of the Presser-plate J. Through its rim the pressing followers (marked L) slide-back and forth. The outward position of these followers is flush with the face of the wheel,

as soon at d, figs. 4 and 5. .When the wheel K is passing the presser-plate J the follower is drawn back far enough to admit the clay fora brick; it is then forced towards the plate J, thereby pressing the brick to a proper thickness against the plate, from which position it is drawn back in a manner and for purposes which I will proceed to explain. 7 r r Back of the wheel K, firmly attached to the frame, is the stationary track in which guides and controls the follower. The face or profile of this track is seen in fig. 5. The roller n of the followers traverses the track every revolution of the wheel. As seen in fig. 5, the upper follower, No. 1, has received the clay from the mill. As it passes down to No. .1, the inclined plancp has forced outthe follower to the required thickness,

and the brick is pressed. The track holds the follower in that position for a moment, but the little offset at 0 allows it to recede or dropback a short distance, the elasticity of the clay being sufiicieut to force it back. The moulded brick in consequence passes down in contact with the resser-plate J without much pressure upon it, its sides being smoothed, while the elasticity of the clay does not tend to roughen the surface when it-is shoved from the mould. As will be noticed in the drawing, the brick is carried down in the mould from the point 0 to the lower end of the presser-plate J until it reaches the position of the follower No. 5. At this point the follower is on an inclined plane, which is shoving it and the brick out 'to the face of the wheel, and when it reaches the place occupied by No. 6 the brick is shoved from the wheel, and i'eady to be deposited on the carrying-board. At the moment the brick arrives directly over the carrying-board, (which is placed on the revolvingaprom.) it is stopped'at the right place, and crowded down from the face of the follower and the wheel on to the board by an angular plate, one portion of which stands vertical and the other horizontal. This plate has a shank which passes through a socket. (A view. of both plate and socket is seenin fig. The socket is marked r, and the plate r. S is an arm (attached to the frame) which supports tbeisooket. The plate r is eoperated downward by an arm, marked T, which is attached to n. roclcshaft, the end of'which isseen at t. fis a'spring by which the plate r is thrown up, the end of which lifts upon a pin in the shank r, as seen in the drawing. The rock-shaft lies in a horizontal position on the side of the machine, supported by arms or brackets. This shaft has a lover on the other end, marked u, fig. 3.

Outside of th'e gear-whol O, fig. 3, there is a circularplate,- B, upon the end of the main shaft -]3, "which haspins or tappets upon it, which, in number, correspond with the number of moulds and followers in the mould wheel. These tappets are marked 1). As this plate revolves with the shaft and the mould-wheel K, each tappet trips the lever rand rocks theshaft t, which movement operates the plate 1', as before described. As before stated, the tappets' and followers correspond, so that the lever is tripped at the right time. After the delivery of the brick,"the follower is drawn back by a flange or rib on the track, which passes inside the little fillet on the back of the follower, seen at L, fig 1. The flange on the track is so inelihed that when the follower is'on' theu'pper portlon'ofthe mOuTd-wheeh'it is drawn entirely back, so that the mould is ready to receive the clay for another brick. I will now return te -the brick which I. left d posited on the carrying-board which lay upon the revolving apron. W is the apron, eLoen'in fig. 1. It passes round rollers at each end, and is supported on rollers in the usual manner. w represents the carrying-board. The end roller of the apron, marked at, has a shaft passing through it, upon which there is a ratchet-wheel, y. Arms 0 extend up from eaeh side of the ratchet, which turn loosely on the shaft, to which are attached pawls whichopcra'te' the ratchet, and consequently turn the roll a: and the apron. The pawls are seen attached to the arms in fig. 1. 3 is a rod, which connects the arm 9 with another arm, p, which is attached to a horizontal shaft marked S. T is another rod, which connects the shaft S with the end of the arm 1;. This arm 2; is attached to the end of a rock-shaft, u, which is counterpart of the rock shaft t on the other side of the machine. This shaft has a lever on the other end, marked 2, which is operated upon in the same way as the lever u is by the tappets on the plate-wheel B. The result of the motion thus imparted is to give the apron an intermitting motion, that is, the apron is motionless when the brick drops on to the carrying-board. When that is done, the pawl throws the ratchet-wheel forward sutliciently far to make room for another brick, when the apron stops again, and so on.

As stated in relation to the stop-plate r, the motion imparted to the apron corresponds with the revolution of the mould-wheel, and the position-of the followers in it. The carrying-boards are shoved in on to the apron from the front of the machine, and taken oil at the other end of then-pron. 2 represents the bricks on the board as they are dropped from the machine. In machines of this description, where the pressing of the brick is done by the inclined surface of a stationary track forcing a follower 'gainst a p'resscr-plate,'a difiiculty has always been experienced in releasing the brick from pressure, the surface of the brick usually being roughened, r the brick mutilatedin someway. By my arrangement for dropping back the follower, thereby relieving the brick of the pressure before it leaves the'presser-plate, I overcomethe difficulty entirely. The brick leaves the mould smooth and perfect as could be desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- The horizontal pug-tub or mill, constructed and arranged substantially as described, in relation to the mould-wheel and the other parts of the machine,substantially as herein shown and described. I

I claim dropping back the follower or relieving the brick of pressure, substantially as and for the purposes specified. I

I claim the arrangement, substantially as shown and described, bytwhich the apron is operated, as and for th tf tl e purpos s 1 JONATHAN MILLS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. S. Srorrom), WILLIAM Dnronn. 

